Dredge



(No Model.) v 1 7 SheetsSheet 1 R. E. ROSE. DRBDGB. No. 295,202, 7 Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

WITNESSES VEJVTOR V M. PETERS MLWW Wml'nngkzn. 0.1;

(No Model.) 7 SheetsSheet 2.

R. E. ROSE.

DREDGE.

Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

INVEJVTOR WiTJvEssEs Jltiorney (No Model.) 7 SheetsS'heet 3.

v R; E. ROSE. DREDGE. No. 295,202. PatenteduMar'. l8.v 1884.

WITNESSES r44 PETER& Paem-Lam m m. Washmglon. D. C,

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 4.-

' 3.3. ROSE.

} DREDGB. No. 295,202. Patented Mar. 18, 1884.,

. WITNESSES IJV'V'EW'TOR 7 Sheets-Sheet 5. R. B. ROSE.

(No Model.)

DREDGB.

No. 295,202. Patented Mar. 18,1884.

V -i\ H WITNESSES Rf Atirney TATES llrrnn infrnivr rrrcn.

nnrus n. nose, or KISSIMEE, FLORIDA, nssronon or THREE-FOURTHS TO HAMILTON nissron, JAMES M. KREAMER, Ann sAnunL n. cnnr, ALL

or PHILADELPHIA, PENXSYLVANIA.

DREDGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,202, dated March 18, 1884,

Application filed October 5,1883. (No modclz) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Burns E. Rose, of

My invention relates to amachine for dredgditches, and like water conduits or reservoirs. 'The object of the invention is to provide means for continuously removing the earth, {5 &c., by suction, and depositing the same at any desired point, an especial object of the improvement being to provide means for cutting loose the earth and reducing the same to proper condition to be readily acted upon by a suction-pipe having its inductive end arranged in the immediate Vicinity of the cutting device.

My invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of device's,which will be readily understood from the following particular description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a dredging and excavating boat constructed according to my invention, with part of the superstructure walls removed. Fig. 2 is a front View of the same. Fig. 3 isa top view,with a part of the roof and superstructure and also the turntable omitted, in order to showthe machinery. Fig. l is-a detail side elevation of the cutter, partlyin section, and the induction end of the suction-pipe,-with part of the earthguide broken away. Fig- 5 is a top View of the parts shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan View of the winding and capstan-shaft turning mechanism. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the main portion of the turn-table and mechanism supported thereby; and Fig. 8 is a view in cross-section taken on the line 5 .t'xof Fig. 7.

mg water-courses and excavating canals,

pivoted at b, and provided with casters or traveling wheels. I), which run on an annular track located on the deck. The turntable preferably projects beyond the bow of the boat, and has mounted upon it a rotary pump,

C, of any suitable construction, to which a suction-pipe, D, is connected by a swivel-joint 5 at d, and extends forward and overboard, as shown, its front or induction end terminating in a vertically-arranged semicircular earth guide or shell, E, which is secured and braced to the enlarged front end of the pipe in any suitable manner. The discharge-pipe F of the pump extends vertically, and has its axis coincident with that of the turntable. The upper end of this discharge-pipe has a swiveling connection with the downwardly-turned inner end of a conducting-pipe, G, which on tends laterally from the boat in the present instance, and is supported by suspension chains or rods k h h depending from a derrickbeam, H, having its upper end supported by a brace-rod, or chain, h, extending from a ire-111e,], erected on the forward part of the hull A.

The pump 0 is driven by a steam-engine, K, which is by preference mounted on the turntable to counterbalance the pump and its at tachments, though it may be located in any other convenient place and connected with the pump by any well-known and suitable motivetransmitting devices. The engine may 30 be of any suitable construction, and need not be here particularly described. The letter K indicates a belt connecting a. belt-wheel on the crank of main shaft of the engine with another belt-wheel on the pump-shaft.

' The engineKis supplied with steam through a steam-pipe, m, which leads from the boilers B, located aft of the turn-table, this steampipe passing through the hollow or tubular pivot b of the turn-table, and having a swivel- 0 joint at m to allow the turn-table to turn free.- ly. By giving a partial rotation to the turntable in either direction the forward end of the suction-pipe may be caused to sweep through the are of a circle, as indicated in 5 Fig. 3, so as to reach the debris to be removed with belt-wheels on the main shaft of the.

by curved cuts, the boat being advanced a proper distance after each sweep of the pipe.

The devices for operating the turn-table are as follows: N is a segmental rack secured to the deck of the boat beneath the turn-table, and meshing with this rack is a gear-wheel, N, fixed upon a shaft, N which has its bearings in hangers depending from the turn-table and carries upon its front end a bevel-gear wheel, N (see Fig. 8,) with which, on opposite sides, mesh two bevel-gear wheels, N and N fixed upon independent shafts, n and 92', mounted in hangers depending from the turntable and carrying belt-wheels a and n respectively, which are connected by belts n and engine. These belts n and n are normally so loose that motion will not be transmitted through them to the shafts n and it" unless they are alternately sufficiently tightened. Upon the shafts a and n are pivoted the arms a and a], which extend upward through openings in the turn-table, and have pivoted near their upper ends the belt-tightening pulleys a and n", and these arms are connected by rods a and a with the opposite ends of an equalarmed lever, N, pivoted on the front part of the turn-table, and having a forwardly-projecting arm, NZ-the front end of which is loosely connected to a hand-lever, N, which is arranged to swing laterally with respect to the boat. An attendant on duty on the front part of the turn-table may by operating the hand-lever, as will be readily seen, tighten either of the belts n or 11 and the belt which is tightened causes motion to be transmitted to one of the bevel-wheels, N or N These bevelwheels, though turning in the samedirection, respectively cause opposite rotation of the wheel N its shaft, and wheel N,'which meshes with the rack N, so that by the operation of hand-lever N the turn-table may be turned as desired.

I will now describe the means for cutting loose the earth and reducing it to suchcondition that it will be readily drawn intothe suction-pipe with the water which flows into the same when the pump is in operation.

The earth-guide or vertical shell E is provided at top and bottom with cross-bars 15,

in which are formed the bearings for a ve-r tical rotary shaft, E located at or about the center of the shell E, and having fixed upon its projecting upper end a bevel-gear wheel, E Intermediatelyanda't its lower projecting end the shaft E is provided with several series of radial arms, 6, carrying at their ends cutters or hoes-c. The'shell E is'a-lso provided with cross-bars e which lie between the paths of the several radial arms '6, and serve .in connection with said arms to break up the earth which .has been cut away, and also to reduce pieces of wood, roots, &c., which may be mixed with the earth.

0 indicates a shaft mounted in bearings at the tops of standards 0 extending from the suction-pipe. At its forward end this shaft carries a bevel-gear wheel, 0, which meshes with the wheel E, and at its rear end carries a similar bevel-gear wheel, 0, which meshes with another bevel-gear, Of, fixed upon atransverse shaft, 0*, mounted in standards rising from the turn-table, said shaft carrying a belt-- wheel, 0 which is connected by a belt, 0", with a pulley on the main shaft of the engine. It will now be observed that whenever the pump is in operation a rotary motion will be also transmitted to the cutter-shaft E and the cutters which it carries, so that as the forward end of the suction-pipe is caused to swing back and forth in the are of a circle the cutters will cut loose and reduce the earth with which they are brought in contact, so that it will be readily drawn into the suctionpipe by the cur-rent of water flowing therein. This is a veryimportant feature of my invention, as by it I am enabled to automatically gravel, and loose silt, which does not need to be cut.

The pump may be primed in the usual mannerby a steam jet or siphon, (not necessary to be shown in the drawings) and I provide the suction-pipe in its enlarged front end with an inwardly-opening flap check-valve, f, (see Fig. 4,) to hold the pump charged when stopped temporarily after being first started on commencing work. I also arrange a cut off gate at f in the discharge-pipe, so that :the pump may be inspected or cleaned out while retaining a charge in the discharge'pipe, said gate being worked by a lever, f; The forward end of the suction-pipe is suspended by a chain, P, having one end connected to a derrick, P, extending forward from the turn-ta- .ble, said chain passing under a pulley, pr,

mounted on the suction-pipe, and then up over a guide-pulley, p, on the derrick, and thence over a swiveling pulley, p", at the top of frame I to a drum, Q, mounted upon a transverse shaft, Q, mounted in suitable bear ings upon the deck of the boat aft of the turntable. The drum Qis loose upon its shaft and may be locked thereto, when desired, by a clutch, Q of ordinary construction. At one end of the drum is a ratchet-wheel, q", with which engages a pawl, q", to prevent backward turning of the drum when not clutched to the shaft. This shaft extends entirely across the deck and carries at its opposite ends pulleys q q, for a purpose which will be presently explained. Fixed intermediately upon said shaft is a gearwhe'el, Q, which meshes with a smaller gear-wheel, R, mounted Th e ' firmly attached to a tumbling-shaft, T, which,

loosely upon a shaft, R,which-has fixed upon it a belt-wheel, R, which is connected by a belt, r, with a belt-wheel upon the main shaft of a separate small steam-engine S, located in the hull-of the boat.

The letter 1 indicates a sliding clutch of ordinary construction and operation arranged upon the shaft R, to engage the gearwheel B when desired and lock the same to its shaft. The clutchoperating lever r is connected to it in the usual manner, and the said lever is extends forward under theturn-table and has its forward end connected toa hand-lever. T, by which it may be turned. By operating the said lever the clutch 2" may be caused to lock the wheel R to its shaft, and it will then transmit motion to the drum Q through wheel Q and its shaft, and the chain P'will thus be wound up for raising the forward end of the suction-pipe and its connected devices when it is necessary to repair or inspect the same, the drum of course being first clutched to its shaft from which it must be afterward released to permit said shaft to be used for another pnrpose, which will be presently explained.

The pulleys q q, heretofore referred to, on

Y the opposite ends of shaft Q, I call the capstan pulleys, because of their function of feeding the boat forward in connection with ropes having their opposite ends secured on shore or to any suitable permanent supports before and behind the boat. These ropes are designated by U U. They are passed once (or twice if necessary) around the capstan pulleys q Q, and extend thence fore and aft over suita ble pulleys and beyond the bow and stern of the boatto anchors or otherfixed supports, to which, after they are hauled taut, their ends are made fast. It will now be apparent that when the capstan-pulleys are turned the boat will be propelled accordingly. After each sweep of the snctionpipe and cutter the operator on the turn-table, by moving thehandlever T, as before described, can clutch the wheel B to its shaft so that it will turn wheel Q, its shaft, and the capstan-pulleys to adyanc-e the boat any desired distance, which, in a practice, will be from ten to fifteen inches after each full sweep of the suctionpipe and cut ter.

On each side of the boatare secured the pentons or scows V V, which, in all kinds of work, serve to buoy and steady the central hull, and, in excavating canals, act as guides to move along the edges of the side banks and hold the boat on a straight course, so that the cutter end of the suction-pipe will be presented to the bank in front in proper position to make uniform cuts.

The conducting-pipe G may be of any de sired length, and may be extended from the boat in any direction so as to deposit the excavated earth where there will be no danger of its sliding back into the canal or other channel.

Having now fully described my invention and explained the operation thereof, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts as shown in my drawings, but may vary the same in any manner, for the better carrying out of my invention, without departing from the essentialprinciplesthereof, .For instance, instead of causing the-cutter to turn on a vertical axis, it may be arranged horizontally, and. motion may be communicated to it from a separate engine from that which drives the pump. Further, instead of transmitting motion by belts to the gearing for turning the turntable, I may use shafti ng and gear-wheels, though I prefer the belts, for the reason that should the cutter encounter any obstructionsuch as large stones or stumps-the belts will slip before any breakage of the cutter or other parts of the mechanism can occur.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with asuction-pipe and a vertical shell or earth guide secured thereto, one side or face of said shell being open, of avertical shaft journaled in said shell, and horizontal knives or cutters secured to the shaft, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a su ction-pipe and a vertical semi-cylindrical shell secured thereto, of a vertical shaft journaled to the shell, horizontal cutters secured to the shaft, and

shaft.

3. The combination, with a semi-cylindrical earth guide or shell, and a suction-pipe connected to the lower end thereof, of revolving knives and the bars 6 rigidly secured to the shield between the knives, substantial] y as set forth.

4. In a hydraulic dredging-machine, the combination of a pump,a suction-pipe swivelcd to the pump, and devices for elevating and moving the outer end of the suction-pipe laterally, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a turn -table, apump mounted thereon, a suction-pipe swiveled to the pump, a discharge-pipe connected to the pump, and a valve located in the dischargepipe, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the boat and its turn-table, of the capstanpulleys, means for turning the same, and means for controlling said capstan pulleys from the turntable in any position, substantially as described.

7 The combination of a turn-table, a pump mounted thereon, aderrick, I a suction-pipe swiveled to the pump, and chains or ropes connecting the induction end of the suction-pipe with the derrick, substantially as set forth.

S. The combination of a turn-table, a pump mounted thereon, a suction-pipe swiveled to the pump and adapted to be moved laterally by turning the table, a steam-engine mounted ICC on the table, a steam-generator independent stantially as described and for the purpo'seset 10' 1 0f the turn-table, and a steam-pipe connectforth.

ing the generator and engine, the said steam- In testimony whereof I have signed this pipe having a swiveled joint, substantially as specification in the presence of two subscriband for the purpose set forth. I ing witnesses.

9. In a dredging or excavating machine, RUFUS E. ROSE.

the combination, with a central hull support- Witnesses:

ing the machinery, of the pontons 0r scows CLAY JOHNSON,

secured to the sides of said central hull, snb- J. L. MOTT. 

